Solid wood-processing machinery manufacturing market leader Weinig AG has reported an impressive performance in April and May, with 2011 sales forecast to hit €350m (2010: €292m).
Speaking at the Ligna exhibition in Hannover, Weinig CEO Wolfgang Pöschl told a press conference that the company’s emphasis on solid wood machinery would not be watered down because of its acquisition of wood-based panels machinery manufacturer Holz-Her.
Mr Pöschl said Weinig’s sales had bounced back 46% last year to €292m, with preliminary estimates putting earnings before tax at about €15m (2010: €35m loss). Excluding the acquisition of Holz-Her, sales were up 20%.
“The first quarter has seen an impressive return for order intakes with an increase of 28%,” said Mr Pöschl. “April and May have seen even further growth and it reflects the [strong] position that Weinig represents [in the market].”
Weinig also announced the first Weinig badged machine made by Holz-Her in Austria – the Multirex, which is designed for Euro style “massive” wood windows.
Mr Pöschl said the expertise of the Weinig and Holz-Her companies would be mutually beneficial to their respective businesses, with ongoing collaboration on machine development, but the two divisions would be kept separate.
“We will focus very much on solid wood being the material for the future as a renewable resource and it will continue to play a very important role [in Weinig’s business]. The emphasis on raw material efficiency and reduced energy consumption will be the trend in the future when designing the equipment.”
Mr Pöschl said some of its standard machines targeting the growing Asian market would be manufactured in China.
